Chapter 172: 136 VS 136

Compared with the bustling commotion outside, the backstage area was very quiet.

The automaton brawling matches and the celebrity performances were all spectacular events to behold, with the atmosphere even further electrified by the bright and colorful lights, but no one in the backstage area was watching as they were all sizing up one another.

Aside from the mechanical security guards, the only people allowed in this area were the battle royale participants.

Half of the participants were laying down, while the other half were standing.

Virtually all of the ones who were laying down were artificial adapters, local residents of Shadow City.

Those who were standing were naturally the organic adapters. There were dozens of them gathered in this room to present a very rare sight that couldn't be seen virtually anywhere else.

No one was saying anything, and it wasn't just because everyone was observing each other. The other reason for everyone's silence was the fact that many of the participants had struck agreements with each other in private. In fact, people like Midget had even formed verbal agreements with both Adam and his sworn enemy, Oni no Miko, so speaking carelessly at a time like this could result in some awkward situations.

Time slowly passed by, and after the halftime performance was over, the host stepped onto the stage to deliver a few words, following which an employee made his way into the backstage area.

"Everyone, prepare to enter the stadium."

After that, he opened the doors leading to the stadium, and a cacophony of sound instantly gushed into the room.

The eruption of sound came entirely from the cheering of the spectators. In contrast with the reception that the automaton battles and celebrity performances had received, this wave of cheers was dozens of decibels higher, placing it on a completely different level.

Even the most aloof and emotionless people were inevitably swept up by the passion and enthusiasm, and standing under the neon lights, Adam felt like he was well and truly under the spotlight, both literally and figuratively.

"Don't let yourself get swept up by the atmosphere. They've released stimulants into the air in the stadium." King Arthur's voice suddenly rang out right as the excitement was beginning to get to Adam's head. "This type of stimulant acts directly upon one's central nervous system, so even adapters will be affected, making them more rash and prone to taking risks, which we can't afford to do."

This made sense, considering the spectators wanted to see action and conflict between combatants in the battle royale right away, but the best strategy to win was to avoid action as much as possible.

"Everyone, there are a total of 136 participants and 24 teams in this battle royale, and all of the participants have arrived. Some of the teams will be led by S tier combatants, while others will be led by A tier combatants who've earned sufficient points to be granted the right to lead teams.

“I'm sure some of the participants will already be quite familiar to many of you, but there are also some who we've never seen in action before, and perhaps they'll be able to give us some interesting surprises.

“Of course, due to the high number of participants, the screens will be split up into multiple sections, and you can choose to zoom into whichever section you like to watch your favorite participants. All of the rules have already been explained, so I won't waste any more time. It's a battle to see who can last till the end! All participants, get ready!"

As soon as the host's voice trailed off, a group of employees emerged to arrange all of the participants to one side of a giant metal ball.

There were many signal transmitters connected to this side of the metal ball, and Adam could tell from a glance that these were the same type of synapse transmitter as the one that had been retrofitted into his body. Thus, he immediately strapped one of them onto his wrist. Meanwhile, the bedridden artificial adapters also had the devices connected to the machines on their heads with the help of their teammates and the stadium employees.

While this was happening, a group of people who had been tormented into an unrecognizable state were also wheeled out on the other side of the metal ball.

These were the other participants of the battle royale, the artificial anomalies.

There were 136 human participants, and 136 artificial anomalies to match.

As soon as these artificial anomalies appeared, they immediately began to howl and scream in agony, and all of them had emerged from the very depths of the director's personal hell.

Even the organic adapters couldn't help but be shaken by such a horrific sight, and Oni no Miko couldn't help but take a step backward. Having witnessed the hellish scenes in Shadow Castle in person, she was even disturbed by what she was seeing.

Those things aren't going to be easy to deal with...

Adam had witnessed artificial anomalies in action, and he knew that the most powerful ones among them weren't inferior to S tier combatants.

There were only a total of 12 S tier combatants participating in the battle royale, and some of them had only just barely scraped their way into the S tier, so it wasn't unfair to say that the overall power of the artificial anomalies exceeded that of the participants.

These artificial anomalies were a major drawcard of this battle royale, and they were also an added feature that prevented participants from hiding away somewhere for the entire duration of the event.

"First things first, we release these anomalies into the psychic world. Some of these anomalies will be outside the zone, while the rest will be stationed at the point collection sites. Each point collected can be traded in for 1,000,000, either in Shadow City currency or money in the civilized world, and there some of the point collection sites hold more than just one point."

Even though Adam was already aware of this, he still couldn't help but be impressed by the monetary incentive on offer in the battle royale. 1,000,000 could allow one to live quite a good life in the outside world, and if they were relatively frugal, there could even be enough money left over for them to live in comfort for several decades in the Metaverse, not as a slave, but as someone who could actually enjoy life in the Metaverse.

The past missions that Adam had taken on had all carried a significant element of risk, yet each job had only earned him around 100,000, but in this battle royale, each point collected was equivalent to 1,000,000, and it was said that there were over 1,000 points distributed across the map, so it was no wonder that the event had managed to attract so many participants.

Adam was doing his best to suppress his excitement, but the people around him, particularly the artificial adapters, were beginning to get completely worked up.

For these artificial adapters, if they could collect enough points, then they would be able to extend their own lifespans through various means.

"Look out for those artificial adapters. They're different from organic adapters. Once the battle royale begins, they'll be the ones who take the most risk and truly put their lives on the line."

Arthur's voice rang out behind Adam again.

"I understand. They have no choice."

Adam understood the concept of just how terrifying a cornered beast could be.

"And you, make sure you don't chicken out once we get in there."

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

This time, King Arthur was speaking to Hook.

In the days leading up to the battle royale, the team had undergone some training together. Only by familiarizing themselves with each other's abilities could they work effectively as a team.

During the training, King Arthur had identified the massive flaw in Hook's personality, which was just how cowardly he was.

"You can be scared, but make sure to do your job. Otherwise, if we all end up dead, you'll essentially be dead as well, understood?"

"Understood." Hook was indeed a coward, but he was certainly no idiot. On the contrary, he was quite intelligent, and he knew exactly what his role was. "I've already come here, so I might as well give it my best."

At this point, all of the artificial anomalies had already been placed into the psychic battleground.

The host had also begun the countdown before the participants were scheduled to enter the battleground.

Adam looked up at the metal ball in the sky, which was actually a server, one that supported a network similar to a miniature Metaverse. In 10 seconds, he was goi to be sent into that unknown battleground for the most perilous and intense experience of his life.